Time to Dump the Outboard Motor

This is how I got to work this morning: a Johnson 9.9 horsepower that was old when I got it 20 years ago. I don't use it very much so didn't give it much thought, until I learned this morning that :

-Old two-strokes like this put out as much pollution in an hour as driving a modern car 5,000 miles;-40% of the oil and gas goes straight into the lake.

Regulations on outboards are getting tighter all the time, but nobody gets rid of the old motors. "They are so dependable that people keep using them until they die" said a Ministry of Environment representative. "and I mean the people, not the motors, which go forever." There is talk that perhaps a moratorium on 2-strokes might be necessary to get rid of them. As for me, next year I will go electric. :::CBC Ontario Morning